Sunday was planned to the limit. Sunday School and church as usual. A noon banquet prepared for her family and served by My Joy with guests from as far away as North Carolina. In the afternoon, a Goshen College Faculty Recital by Scott Hochstetler, baritone, My Joy’s nephew, & Rebecca Dengler Kaufmann, mezzo-soprano, in the Rieth Recital Hall. In the evening My Joy and I were to be a part of a church’s neighborhood meeting. By midnight doubts began to crystalize as snow fell as forecast.
By Sunday morning most scheduled events were canceled because of snow and wind. The service at the College Mennonite Church survived by half. My Joy’s family meal survived, but my son, her daughter, and I were not able to be present. The recital and the neighborhood meal were cancelled.
Snow is beautiful, powerful. and quieting. It’s presence has given me time to think about church growth, and the church itself. That interests me, and I am driven to write more about it.